This Thanksgiving, I've had my brothers and sisters on my mind. I don't spend much time considering my relationships with them, and I think that's because they've always just been there, and I know that, no matter the arguments that (still) crop up between us, no matter the petty disagreements, our relationships will always bounce back. Their lives are linked to mine permanently, and as those who met you in the womb have a tendency to do, they know me all ways, the good, the bad, and the ugly (and things can get mighty ugly between siblings).
Tonight I'm giving thanks for them by recounting a favorite memory about each one, an obscure memory that I might not have shared with them before.
Kelly
It's an early, early Christmas memory. I think I was 3 or 4, but it was definitely pre-Blair. I got a little table and 4 plastic blue chairs, along with a Fisher Price stove and set of pots, pans, and play food. For some reason, we had Christmas in the den, not the living room, and Mom and Dad had set the little table up in the kitchen. You sat and played with me and my new kitchen set for what seemed like hours. I basked in the rare bliss of having your undivided attention, a sister 8 years older who usually had to be begged to play.
Neal
I was in 9th grade, and you were home on leave from the Navy. We went out cruising in the Malibu. We drove down this winding road near the river and talked and laughed and got a Slurpee, and you gave me a cigarette, which, yes, wasn't the healthiest or most responsible thing to to, but to me it was a gift of pure, unadulterated acceptance. Suddenly you enjoyed my company, and it made me feel mighty big.
I was 10 or 11, you were 4 or 5. We were lying on the bed in your room, and I was drawing Roxie and Ralphie pictures while you watched over my shoulder. I was telling stories about them (they were imaginary dogs, with an owner named Catherine, usually played by Blair) and drawing the action as I narrated. You were riveted, and I had that feeling (one I still love) of being lost in the game while time unraveled around us and the business of the house stayed on the other side of the bedroom door. I wish I could find those drawings. We had a whole collection of them in a green spiral bound notebook.I am grateful to have had all of you for brothers and sisters, and I love you all, always.
5 comments:
Thanks for writing about us! We're thankful for you, too. Here are our memories about you--
from Kelly
The summer that you lived with us while completing your CNN Spanish internship...I really felt we bonded that summer and I really got to know you as a friend, not just my little sister.
from Blair
"Does it have to be a sweet memory?" This was her opening comment, so just know that... Her memories include you and Emily Talley, mainly leaving her behind and making her lick a rock and/or participate in a seance. Good memories include playing Catherine, Christmas Eve, making an entire village out of leaves in the front yard, and trying to muffle giggles at church.
How sweet~ you are lucky to have so many and such close siblings. It isn't something to be taken for granted!
Heidi
You are lucky to have such wonderful memories--what a great idea to sit and share some of them.
Another great post idea! Love the memories themselves, too! How fun to think back to when we were little (though it seems so, so long ago now...)
What a beautiful post for Thanksgiving!
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